Pappas v. Fronczak

618 N.E.2d 878, 249 Ill. App. 3d 42, 188 Ill. Dec. 308
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 28, 1993
Docket1-91-2576
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 618 N.E.2d 878 (Pappas v. Fronczak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pappas v. Fronczak, 618 N.E.2d 878, 249 Ill. App. 3d 42, 188 Ill. Dec. 308 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Constantine P. Pappas, Sr., administrator of the estate of Constantine Pappas, Jr., deceased, appeals from a judgment entered following a jury verdict in a medical malpractice case brought against defendants Stanley Fronczak and Luis Yarzagaray. Plaintiff’s position at trial was that the defendants deviated from the applicable standard of care by failing to take the necessary measures to diagnose, prior to its rupture, the presence of a posterior fossa mass or aneurysm within the back of the deceased’s lower brain.

On appeal, plaintiff alleges the following grounds for reversal: (1) the jury’s verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence; (2) the trial court erred in allowing one of plaintiff’s treating physician to give defense-oriented expert opinion testimony at trial where he was undisclosed as a Rule 220 (134 Ill. 2d R. 220) expert and where such testimony violated a pretrial agreement between the parties; (3) the trial court erred in limiting plaintiff’s attempt to expose financial bias during his cross-examination of a defense expert; and (4) the trial court erred by making a ruling which effectively prevented plaintiff from using a demonstrative exhibit at trial. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

On August 23, 1974, plaintiff’s decedent (Gussie) was born. Gussie had a normal and healthy childhood. In July 1978, Gussie and his mother (Lucy) were in an automobile accident. Shortly after the accident, Gussie began to complain of headaches. From 1978 to 1982, there was no set pattern to Gussie’s complaints. Gussie’s pediatrician, Dr. Miro Petani, knew of the headaches but did not consider them to be serious.

On November 25, 1982, Gussie awoke with a headache unlike anything he had previously experienced. His head was cocked to the left side and he could not move his neck. He complained of terrible pain in his head. The pain continued throughout the day and into the night. In the early morning hours of Friday, November 26, 1982, Gussie’s father (Gus) took Gussie to the emergency room of Northwest Community Hospital.

At Northwest Community Hospital, X rays were taken of Gussie’s neck. Gussie was recommended to see a neurosurgeon right away. At 11 a.m. Friday, Gus took Gussie to see Dr. Pecson at Alexian Brothers Hospital. Dr. Pecson told Gus to monitor Gussie at home. If his condition did not improve, he should be taken to his pediatrician.

Gussie’s condition did not improve, so" Lucy took Gussie to see Dr. Petani. Dr. Petani arranged for Gussie to be seen by defendant Dr. Fronczak, a neurosurgeon at Oak Park Hospital. Dr. Fronczak was employed by defendant Dr. Yarzagaray. Dr. Yarzagaray was on vacation until the following Monday, November 29,1982.

On Saturday morning, November 27, 1982, Lucy and Gus met Dr. Fronczak at the Oak Park Hospital emergency room. Gussie’s condition was the same: he was complaining of a bad headache and a stiff neck; he had a fever; and he could not sleep.

Dr. Fronczak examined Gussie and the X rays from Northwest Community Hospital. Dr. Fronczak learned about the 1978 automobile accident and Gussie’s sporadic headaches. He admitted Gussie into Oak Park Hospital that day, where Gussie would remain for the next 10 days.

Dr. Fronczak suspected that Gussie might have a neurological problem. In particular, he suspected meningitis or a tumor or mass near the posterior fossa, which is the area at the back and lower part of the brain. To rule out meningitis, Gussie received a spinal tap. The results were normal. To rule out a posterior fossa mass, Dr. Fronczak performed a CT scan on Gussie’s skull. It too produced normal results.

From Saturday through Sunday, Gussie’s condition did not improve according to his father. He continued to have a stiff neck and periodic pain attacks.

Dr. Fronczak called in Dr. Thomas Sullivan, a pediatric neurologist to examine Gussie. Dr. Sullivan examined Gussie on Sunday, November 28, 1982. Dr. Sullivan spoke with Gussie’s parents, reviewed his history and the results of the CT scan and spinal tap, and conducted a neurologic examination. Dr. Sullivan believed that Gussie’s problem was caused by a viral infection or a lesion in the spinal cord.

Dr. Sullivan recommended a CT scan of Gussie’s cervical spine, which revealed no abnormalities, medication to relieve Gussie’s pain and neck stiffness, and that a myelogram be considered the following work week if Gussie did not improve. A myelogram is an invasive procedure which involves injecting a dye into the patient’s spinal fluid. The dye is traced through the structures of the spinal column. Myelograms pose risks to the person injected, such as infections, allergic reactions, nerve damage and seizures. Dr. Sullivan never saw Gussie again following his examination.

On Monday morning, defendant Dr. Yarzagaray examined Gussie and reviewed the results of the previous tests. Dr. Yarzagaray did not have an answer to what was causing Gussie’s problem. The existence of a posterior fossa mass was still a possibility because of Gussie’s continued irritability and neck pain. He did not order a myelogram or an arteriogram because there was no clinical indication for these tests. Gussie’s pain was affecting his behavior, including causing him to exaggerate its existence.

From Monday, November 29 until the following Monday, Gussie remained at Oak Park Hospital. Gussie’s condition during this time was the subject of much testimony at trial. The conflict centered on whether his headaches, neck pain and irritability improved or whether he generally exhibited the same symptomology, subject only to daily fluctuations. During this time, Gussie did not receive a myelogram, arteriogram or a second CT scan to confirm the negative results of the first CT scan. Oak Park Hospital did not have the capability to conduct a myelogram or arteriogram on Gussie.

On Monday afternoon, December 6, 1982, Gussie was transferred to Children’s Memorial Hospital for further observation and tests. At about 3 a.m. on Tuesday, December 7, 1982, an undiagnosed aneurysm in Gussie’s brain ruptured causing him to become comatose. Gussie died on January 4,1983.

At trial, the parties contested whether the first CT scan taken at Oak Park Hospital of Gussie’s skull in fact revealed that part of Gussie’s brain which contained the aneurysm which eventually killed him. Plaintiff contended that it did not, while defendants argued the CT scan revealed that part, but failed to disclose any problem.

The parties also contested whether Gussie should have been transferred to another hospital earlier so that other diagnostic tests could be performed which could have more conclusively ruled out the presence of the posterior fossa mass or aneurysm which killed Gussie. Gussie’s condition during his stay at Oak Park Hospital implicated whether an earlier transfer or the performance of more invasive tests was necessary.

Plaintiff first argues that the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence, We disagree.

A jury’s verdict on contested factual issues will not be disturbed on review unless it is against the manifest weight of the evidence. (Tedrowe v. Burlington Northern, Inc.

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Bluebook (online)
618 N.E.2d 878, 249 Ill. App. 3d 42, 188 Ill. Dec. 308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pappas-v-fronczak-illappct-1993.